About Nadja Ellinger

Nadja Ellinger is a visual artist interested in the oral tale as a way to explore new narratives offside the path. She was born in 1993 in a small medieval village in the middle of Germany. Spending most time in the forest and in books she fell in love with fairy tales, folklore and storytelling. After completing her bachelor’s degree in photography at the University of Applied Science in Munich, she studied for her MA in Photography at the Royal College of Art in London from 2018 to 2020.

Nadja’s work was exhibited and published in the UK, US, Italy, Germany, and France. She worked on comissions by clients such as Vogue USA and NR Magazine and held her first solo show with her project “But a Mermaid has not Tears” in Munich, Germany. In 2020 she was one of the finalists for Camera Work in Ravenna, Italy, and exhibited at Voies-Off in Arles, the Ginnel Foto Festival, and the ‘Other Identity’ Biennal in Genova, among others.

Fairy tales have centuries-old history and can be found in all cultures. Although today often only a single version of a fairy-tale type is popular, there are actually usually hundreds of variations. Through the process of storytelling and re-telling, they continue to develop, consolidate and absorb cultural and political developments.

My practice builds on this aspect of retelling, using the fluid character of the fairy tale to develop new variations and narrative structures. In collaboration with my protagonists, a personal narrative is created. The story thus becomes a transitional object: An inner world is projected into the forest. Through this outward-everting, an experiential and shared space is made possible. Here the protagonist can meet and experience themselves and each other through the act of playing in the double sense of the word: as the childlike engagement in a game as well as the acting a part.

Education:

2018-2020 Royal College of Art, MA Photography

2013-2018 University of Applied Science Munich, BA photography